OPEN LETTER TO:

Paul Polman, CEO of Unilever, UK, producer of various brands of toothpaste worldwide.
Bernardo Hees, CEO of Kraft Heinz, USA, producer of Capri-Sun in various countries.
Ulf Mark Schneider, CEO of Nestle, Switzerland, producer of Felix cat food worldwide.
Grant F Reid, CEO of MARS, USA, producer of Whiskas cat food worldwide.
Ian Cook, CEO of Colgate Palmolive, USA, producer of Colgate and other brands of
toothpaste.
Denise N. Morrison, CEO of Campbells, USA, producer of Plum Organics baby food.
Damian Gammell, CEO of Coca-Cola European Partners, UK, licensee of Capri-Sun in
various countries.
Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK producer of Aquafresh and other brands of toothpaste
worldwide.
Hans-Peter Wild, Owner of Arios Holding AG, Switzerland, owner of the Capri-Sun
brand.
Irwin Simon, CEO of Hain-Celestial, producer of Ella’s Kitchen and other baby food
brands.
Ron Delia, CEO of Amcor, Australia, producer of laminate packaging
Peter Oswald, CEO of Mondi, producer of laminate packaging.
William F. Austen, CEO of Bemis, USA, producer of laminate packaging.
Jukka Moisio, CEO of Huhtamaki, Finland producer of laminate packaging.
Greg Tucker, CEO of ProAmpac, USA, producer of laminate packaging.

20th January 2018

Dear Madams and Sirs,

As I am sure you are aware, the environmental damage caused by your product
packaging is becoming a significant risk to your business, highlighted this week by the
announcement by the EU of the new Plastic Strategy. Unaddressed it will remain a
‘smoking gun’ waiting for the public to object or the government to legislate against it
and in either case the damage to your brands could be massive.

As you know plastic and aluminium laminated packaging is used in pouches, tubes,
sachets, bags, etc for pet food, toothpaste, baby food, drinks and many other everyday
items. Currently there are 5,000,000 tonnes of laminate packaging deployed annually
and your company is responsible for a healthy chunk of it. Failure to capture and
recycle it means that 500,000 tonnes of reusable aluminium (worth over £400M) are
buried every year. However, in contrast to other packaging challenges, there is a proven
solution for this which is simple and affordable to implement, it just requires some will
and commitment from businesses like yours.

Now, you will say, “we have done something”. Well, indeed some companies have
jumped on the bandwagon of so-called “upcycling” that actually only extends the linear
life of a product or package rather than bringing it fully into the circular economy. And
others still have responded a bit more positively by investing in trying to devise new
packaging materials that combine the lightweight and effective performance of
aluminium laminates with recyclability or biodegradeability. Regrettably, despite
considerable effort in this direction, even this has not yet proved a terribly successful
strategy. Developing suitable materials is a lengthy process and once developed, the
task of ensuring legal acceptance is costly and time-consuming. And that is before
taking into account the cost of retooling manufacturing lines. I’m sure you would agree
it would be preferable to continue to use the existing packaging system with all its
economic and resource efficiency advantages but simply ensure that it can be recycled
- a “business as usual” solution for you.

Who knows when the public will wake up and object to laminate packaging, or when the
government will turn to pouches and tubes for its next environmental crusade? It makes
sound business sense for you to proactively address this risk and benefit from some
positive environmental PR in the process. We can make this double win happen.

How? The good news is that a viable, economic solution is at hand and that is what I
am offering you today. My company, Enval Ltd, is a British company that has
developed and patented a technology for recycling laminate packaging. A unique
thermal process breaks down the plastics in the laminate and allows valuable aluminium
and other saleable materials to be cleanly extracted and sold. The process is profitable,
environmentally beneficial, and works both on post-consumer waste as well as clean
production scrap.

Enval has built and run a commercial scale laminate packaging recycling plant in the
UK. The plant has been operational for over a year and we are continually processing
packaging scrap generated by manufacturers (some from your businesses). Many
employees of your various companies have seen our plant in operation and we have
even run pilot schemes with some of you that have shown that post-consumer laminate
packaging waste can be readily separated using standard sorting equipment. In other
words, we have tried to engage with you and interest your companies in our work and to
highlight the benefit we bring to you as well as the environment. However, the fact
remains that while your companies stand to be the major beneficiaries of our efforts, so
far the result has been limited to a few plant tours; but you can change that!

The ‘heavy lifting’ of research and development and industrialising the process is
complete and the key challenge now is to drive adoption of the process across the
global waste and recycling sector. You might have thought that waste management
and recycling companies would be keen to embrace new technologies to differentiate
their services but, sadly, that is not the case. So to overcome this inertia you can help
by making a contribution: Enval needs £5M to help us demonstrate the clear demand
for laminate packaging recycling and the value and benefits it delivers. The money will
be used to build four new units in various geographies to process both industrial scrap
from the manufacture and filling of packaging and also to establish further post-
consumer and kerbside collection schemes with local authorities. These steps will start
to demonstrate how we fit into and complement the wider waste management industry
and take the excuses away from the risk-averse waste handlers who are good followers
if not early adopters.

So it’s time to act. To be blunt, all you really need to do is “put your money where your
mouth is” from an environmental standpoint - to help get some more treatment capacity
installed rather than sitting by waiting for others to step in. The new units enabled by
your money can be used to recycle your own production waste, delivering you tangible
cost savings. Also let’s put this in context; the amount of money Enval is seeking here
is dwarfed by your marketing and CSR budgets. And to be clear, we’re not asking for a
charitable donation! With pressure on plastic packaging mounting and governments
being urged to legislate to restrict its use, there is a compelling business case for
protecting your investment in laminate packaging while at the same time making a clear
statement about your commitment to the environment. You have a responsibility for
ensuring that your packaging is environmentally sustainable. Backing the widespread
deployment of our technology would show the world that you are serious about this.

Obviously if you are happy to continue talking the environmental talk without walking the
walk, I am sorry to have bothered you but if your company really does have an
environmental conscience and would like to make a difference, grasp this opportunity
and please do get in touch to learn more. We’re ready to start solving this problem: are
you?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Dr Carlos Ludlow-Palafox
CEO, Enval Ltd.